what’s next?

Humans have a tendency of wanting to know what’s going on, ALL THE TIME! Like 24/7, no breaks, no heads up, no chill, no nothing its bananas.
That’s cool, but give me a break. Please.

[Real. Raw. Respect.]

01. Real.

I am a new college graduate, which means I’m supposed to have my life figured out already, 10,000 job offers on the table or a secured job stacked away, a family, a house, a baby, a glow of success, money stashed, ideas planned, a life plan, health insurance, life insurance, happiness, no fears, no doubts, and most importantly ANSWERS to everyone’s questions on MY LIFE 🙂. Sounds familiar? Is that real enough for ya? I hope it was because I was being super sarcastic. Keeping it 1000% REAL, we do not like being asked: “WHAT’S NEXT?” It literally grinds our gears. What’s real is that sometimes we do not have all the answers you are looking for and to be honest THAT’S OKAY.

Can we recuperate from this HUGE accomplishment?
Can we BASK in our moment…even if it’s ONE WEEK POST-GRADUATION? ONE MONTH POST-GRADUATION? ONE YEAR POST-GRADUATION?
Can we just LIVE OUR BEST LIVES?
I mean we literally just walked across the stage and collected our diplomas. We did not expect to be bombarded with questions as soon as we stepped off the stage. WOW. Can we breathe?

02. Raw.

Let people underestimate you. To be honest, you should be honored when someone underestimates you because you are now in control! I read somewhere once that “Being underestimated is one of the biggest competitive advantages you can have. Embrace it.” How deep and true is that statement? You have the upper hand because 1. you know exactly what you are capable of doing and 2. you can take advantage of that opportunity and take over the world!

Prove people wrong. Here’s my story that I rarely discuss: When I began my education program, my advisor for the department was not supportive of me. She did not think I could have the “perfect grades” and maintain those grades throughout the program all because of the previous semester (while I was still a math major), I got my first F in a course (which brought my whole GPA down). My first feelings were to report her, then to say some stuff that would be out of character but instead, the chair-person got involved. He was very supportive and gave me all the encouragement I needed. He looked at all my previous grades, not just the one F I received previously and knew I was a smart girl with a bright future. He told her to sign me up for the courses and give me a chance. Let’s say I got all A’s that semester! And proved her wrong. I continued to prove her wrong every semester after that. As an education major you cannot have a GPA under a 3.5 or else you would get kicked out the program however, I managed to sustain that GPA throughout everything.
Fun fact: I became super close with her to the point where my last semester she gave me so much well wishes and told me I would be a great teacher in the future. Isn’t life crazy? You never know what the outcome will be.

03. Respect.

Let me respect the process. Understand that people will not always believe in you. They would say whatever it takes to break you and make you feel lesser than you are. I can recall situations in college where some of my professors were not encouraging at all and others who were just so inspiring and wanted me to succeed. Those are the types of qualities I looked for in my teachers and the qualities I aspire to have in my classroom in the future.

As a young adult it is prevalent to develop an attitude that when others see you, they know you have a purpose. It is in those craziest moments of your life where you have to show people who you really are, by maintaining a good attitude and a positive spirit. Don’t let people make you sweat, instead make them sweat by your abilities, qualities, smile, personality and overall lifestyle…regardless of how cruel they are. It’s not always easy, but it’s always a satisfying feeling in the end. This is something I truly hope to adopt in every single situation, where it will become the norm for me!

SOOO WHAT’S NEXT? Life. New Beginnings. & God leading the way!

All photos were taken by Duran M, @DuranAndrae (on IG).

Thanks for stopping by! xoxo MJ.